I have been a little quiet on my web site in recent months because I have been working like crazy on a couple of special projects. I have taken the leap and opened a beautiful little cottage that I call the Creative Cottage. It not only houses my business, but also teams up with a range of other creative artists and craftspeople to form a "creative hub". My goal is to make this a place where people can come to be inspired, to get knowledge and resources for their creative expression or just plain buy the creations of all of those talented people who are a part of this community hub.

The Cottage is located at 6 Masters Avenue, Victoria Point. If you are ever in this neighbourhood, why not pop in and say hello?

Those that know me, know I like to spend some time each morning down by the water, sitting on a rock. That rock teaches me so much about life and living. It sits there, unmoving, yet at the same time, completely engaged with everything around it, in fact with the entire universe. This is being in ultimate truth.

The rock has shown me the importance of getting to the other side of the mirror. On this side of the mirror I know I see the world because it is reflected in my mind. But the mind never reflects the self. I am not talking about my physical or psychological self. I can contemplate my thoughts and emotions, but I cannot contemplate my true Self. My existence cannot be contemplated – it can only be experienced. The mind is reflecting the world around me, but there is no experience of me as a life. But the most important thing in this existence right now for you is you are here.

What is happening on the mirror of the mind keeps you engaged for a lifetime and more – the same thoughts, the same emotions go on endlessly. Today is a reminder that we all have an expiry date. Another moment, another day, another year should not pass without you knowing Life. You will know life not with food, drink, money, possessions, love, or pleasure. The only way to know life is if you get to the other side of the mirror. On this side of the mirror, you can only see drama – you cannot see life in its essence.

What you experience now is just a reflection of the mind. Reality is on the other side. The other side is not a product of time and space. Everything is here and now. The entire cosmos is right here. It is a simple process, but because you are so busy with your own psychological drama, life is completely missed. Because it is missed, life is punishing people with repetitive cycles. Once you are here, the most important thing is to have a powerful experience of life. Right now, you know everything except life because you are only looking at the mirror of the mind as it reflects the world, not at the basis of all experience within you. It seems to me most people are unconscious of this experience because their psychological drama, their emotions and thoughts, override it completely. There is no difference between life and the source of life. Life is the source of life. There is no place in the universe where creation and the Creator exist separately. A separation between life and God only happens in the human mind.

If you pay attention, somewhere behind this huge, colorful statement that the mind is making, life is constantly making its own statement. You need to get in touch with that. To know this aliveness is the most important dimension. If you experientially know that you are here right now, if you capture one moment, you capture eternity. If you capture one moment, you capture the entire cosmos, just like the rock.

Bea xxx

I love to create – it is a big part of not only what I do, but who I am. I have come to learn that if creativity is to flow, we have to develop a certain level of un-distortedness in the mind. If you carry the baggage of life with you all the time, you will find it difficult to see anything the way it is.

If you think of your mind as a mirror it helps to put this into perspective. A mirror is useful to you only if it is clean and plain. If it is undulating or has accumulated something, it does not show you things as they are. I can remember as a child going to a circus and walking into an arcade filled with lots of distorted mirrors. Everything in that arcade was not a real reflection of what I was.

But for most of us, the nature of a mirror is such that if you stand before it, it carries you in full glory. If you leave, the mirror leaves you 100%. It will not retain even a little residue of who you are. When the next person comes and stands in front of the mirror they too are reflected in full glory. If a million people look at themselves in a mirror, they will not leave an iota of their quality in the mirror.

If you can keep your mind in such a way that the exposure to life does not leave any residue on your mind, then you see things just the way they are. Then there is room to innovate and create every aspect of your life. If you are just receptive to life, if you become a reflection of life rather than becoming a mind and a jumble of thoughts and emotions, this is what is what I call being open to creativity.

If you don’t make any distinction as to what is important and not important or what you like and don’t like, you see everything just the way it is. But the moment you decide what is mine and not mine and what is important and not important, how will you get involved with that which you think is not yours? Where there is no involvement in this beautiful life, nothing functions well. When you are deeply involved with everything that you are in touch with right now, only then do you see everything clearly, the way it needs to be seen. When you see things like this, it is very easy to create anything because it is just a question of what material you have in your hands and how to put it together.

What do you see in your mirror?

Bea xxx

Spring time has arrived here in Australia, which is always the time of year for me which is a busy time. The birds in the trees are busy, the days have more sunshine and people in my local community emerge from their winter hide-a-ways. Spring time is always when I decide to clean out my studio and to create more space.

My little studio gets very crowded and congested. Projects waiting for completion, experiments here and there waiting to be finished and just stuff I have collected that may be useful at some point. The space seems to close in around me.

Sometimes I feel that way about my thoughts. There is always plenty to ponder, new ways to create, new ideas and working problems into solutions. The main difference though between the four walls of my studio and my mind however is that our inner dimensions are limitless. That is something that took me a little time to realise, but as I became more and more self-aware by spending time on my rock down by the water, a truly magnificent panorama opened.

Sitting there on my rock looking at the waves, it became obvious to me that the waves are just on the surface. The waves of worry or fear that sometimes visit are really only on the surface. Look beneath the surface and a limitless panorama opens. This is where bliss resides. It is always there, never changes and is the home of limitless love and compassion, no matter how many wave are crashing on the surface.

I think that all too often we feel closed in – be it my little studio or by the hustle and bustle of modern living. But the reality and truth is we are not closed in. We can access that open place where limitless love, bliss, peace and happiness resides whenever we choose.

Broaden your outlook and look within to that limitless place. That is where we are meant to be.

Bea xxx

Many pieces of furniture that come into my studio need repairs and work before they are ready for the next chapter of their lives. Sometimes its structural, sometimes it cosmetic. Either way after a little attention, a ladling of love and a splash of creativity, they are ready for their next part of their life and journey.

Like the pieces of furniture that pass through my studio, for many people, by the time they get a little wise about life it is already over for them. The experience of life leaves some people wounded instead of wise. But if people with so much experience behind them could make their life’s experience into wisdom, their wisdom could be useful for the world in so many different ways, just like the furniture that emerges from my little studio.

Often we define ourselves by the work that we do, but is that really the way it is? Our physical bodies come with an expiry date. Once you are over a certain age, however well taken care of you are, you are still a fragile life. Tomorrow morning the whole equation of your life can change, physically. I hope it doesn’t come to you but it is a possibility. Millions of people are going through it right this very minute.

As a creator of shabby chic, I have developed a set of skills over the years to transform the old into the new. But in reality we are all able to transform, particularly when it comes to our thinking and mindset. With this in mind, it is never too late for you to activate the other aspect which goes beyond this physical body. That is, the spiritual part of you. For a person who knows only the body, old age is the greatest misery and fear. Everything becomes meaningless and burdensome when the body is threatened and begins to creak and groan. But if you have tasted something beyond the physical body, old age will not be a problem, it will be a blessing. I think, once you reach a certain point in your life, you must allow at least a certain quota of your energy and life in that direction. Old age just won’t matter if something within you is very vibrant. But it is important to realize that it is completely within our power to make that transformation – it is never too late. Why not start “project you” as part of living this beautiful, vibrant life? It is never too late. Put it on your list for action today.

Bea xxx

If you look around my studio you will see lots of projects in various states of completion. All of these projects are a manifestation for my shabbalicious aspiration and desire.

If you are truly interested in developing something, whether it be something simple like your shabblicious creative talent or something more profound like your spiritual path, the first and the foremost thing is a strong aspiration or desire. If your aspiration or desire is not strong enough, whenever a small difficulty comes your way, you will take the sideline and in my experience make some excuse. In your life, this will always be the trick of the mind because all said and done, it is a mental attitude. Those who rise beyond this trick go places – others will get busy looking at their phones or Facebook (lol). Whether it is spirituality, business, music, art – or whatever – this will come when you pitch beyond your limits. Your mind says, “Is it really necessary? It is nice here, where is the need to go further?”

The first thing is to create a shabbalicious desire. “I want to know, I want to know, I want to know.” It must bother you from within. If the desire does not bother you, seeking will not take you beyond limitations because every human being has them. “Will I cross these limitations or succumb to them?” That is the question. Instead, people are asking, “What is the point, what will I achieve?” It is not an achievement.

In every sphere of life, human beings have strived. It is only because of the striving of a few human beings that you are enjoying many things in terms of science, technology, geography and spirituality and dare I say it - shabbaliciousness. Many died trying, few made it. It is because of those few people that many things have happened on the planet. In my little part of the world I want to encourage you to burn with a different light!

The first and foremost thing is desire; it must be a burning desire. If there is no burning desire, if there is no fire in you – what will you do? Make the fire happen. Don’t take thirty-five years to get the fire going. How long will you take?

Bea xxx

I often spend many hours totally immersed in creation in my little shabblicious studio. I just get so immersed in creating that I seem to go to another place. I don’t consider it an escape from reality, just a complete focus on what I am doing, pretty much to the exclusion of almost everything else. In that place, something beyond myself begins to function.

Some people ask me how I get to that place and it is something that I have thought a lot about. Is the creative process one there by chance or is it always there? In many respects, I think the creative process is a form of Grace.

Unlike gravity which is working upon you all the time, the creative process is much more subtle. It’s not that it works on you only when you are alert. However, unless you are alert, it won’t come. I think Grace is very sensitive to your presence and so too is creativity. If your presence is not there, its presence also will not be there. This is the nature of the divine and creation is definitely the realm of the divine.

This is why many people miss it, because they are mostly absent. Either your thoughts or your emotions or your activity is ruling you. Your presence is not ruling you. This is the transformation that I try to bring about when I create. You want your presence to be the dominant thing. You will know when you are there because suddenly, ordinary becomes extraordinary. Every aspect of your creative energy life is transported to a completely different experience.

This is how I invite shabbalicious creativity into my life.

Bea xxx

When I pause for a few moments and reflect on the past, it seems to me that everything just seems to be speeding up. The rate of pace in my shabbalicious business seems to get faster and faster each month. The same too is true in my home. Rushing to school, rushing to get things done in my studio, rushing to meetings, rush, rush, rush! Most of us rush from Monday morning straight through until Friday home time. It's manic right? But at the same time we're being told to de-stress, slow down a bit.... chill out, take it easy! When was the last time you gave yourself just 5 minutes (300 seconds) at any time of the day to just shut out the noise and chaos and responsibilities of our daily duties to just be silent? This is the most valuable gift there is to humankind... to yourself. We can splash out on this truly amazing and priceless shabbalicious gift to ourselves every day, in fact, whenever we like. The benefits to giving ourselves this precious gift on a daily basis are immeasurable and cannot be compared to any material gift on the planet. It is the most responsible thing you'll ever do in your life. It not only enriches your life, it greatly affects the lives of those around us. When was the last time that you sat down quietly and really love yourself? It's the most rewarding relationship with anyone that we can have. To really truly love yourself, it takes some doing! Yet it is one of the most important relationships we have. Why not as a gesture of your love towards yourself give yourself that special shabbalicious gift of time each day? So what if YOU + TIME (and I am only talking 5 minutes a day) really does equal a happy wholesome you?

A you - that can sit alone for any length of time and just be happy with your thoughts and who you really are instead of finding a distraction because your thoughts are driving you crazy.

A you - that progresses in all the ways you hoped you would being fully self-expressed.

A you - who does not fall into the trap of being timid when what you really want to portray is humility.

A you - who has a healthy sense of pride and confidence as opposed to arrogance.

A you - who is kind but not weak.

When we change our way of thinking... we can change our world into anything we want it to be. Start with a priceless gift to yourself each day and watch in amazement as success (however you define that) flows from you as a fulfilled shabblicious person.

Bea xxx

Whatever our stories or circumstances, I do believe there is a purpose to each of our lives. There is a reason to why each one of us is here and by finding our life purpose, not only will we become a lot happier and experience a deep seated contentment and grounding, but we will also start behaving in ways that will also make those around us happier.

I discovered long ago, it’s often our setbacks that yield the secrets of our greatest breakthroughs. It was around the time that I suffered the great loss of my Mother and everything seemed so utterly pointless and miserable in my life that I stumbled across the concept of meditation. As I began to experience benefits, I had the tiny mustard seed of an idea that became my purpose to help people worldwide to find inner purpose and happiness through beautiful self-expression and creativity. The most important lesson I learned at that time was that almost anything in life can be greatly improved with time and persistence. Almost always, there's no reason to remain hopeless no matter how dark it may seem at the time.

Whatever your story is you can re-write it; whatever your circumstances are you can change them and whatever your purpose is, you can find it.

Did you know that research suggests that having a sense of purpose can add years to your life, regardless of what that sense of purpose is? Here are some tips to help you find your passion and purpose in life so you can wake up each morning with all the energy and creativity you need…

Go for a walk in nature and really think about what you wanted to be or do when you were a child, even if you were told that you couldn’t do it. My favourite place is down by the water on my rock, but just choose a place where you can be silent and still for a few minutes.

Ask yourself this question… If time and finances were no object, what would I do next week? Really think about it in terms of purpose, not about things.

Write it down using a pen and paper. Find a quiet place and write down all the things you are good at; write down all the things you have ever wanted or would like to do. Don’t do a critique or find reasons why not – just focus on what comes from your heart even if you don’t know how it could ever possibly happen.

Make the time to come home to your “self” every day. When you meditate for just a few minutes a day you can gain a deep understanding of your true purpose and passion in life. The answers in my experience are always within. All it takes is time, patience and persistence to be still and listen.

For me, I call it Shabbalicious Living.

Bea xxx

The expression of my passion on my shabbalicious journey has taken me through many phases. Sometimes it is colours, sometimes it is textures, sometimes it is fabrics, sometimes it is mosaics, and so, so much more. There are so many elements along the journey and it shows up in many shabbalicious ways as that passion expresses itself.

I was thinking the other day about my shabbalicious journey and what it has taught me particularly around the expression of my passion in my day-to-day life. What I do know is that you can never fight them. You should just follow your desires and passions but channel them in a direction. I guess it is like all of the emotions that bubble up in our lives from time to time. Without a direction they can just blow us around like a leaf being blown around in the wind.

Your desire, your passion and everything you go through is simply plain energy. It is you who makes it into desire or fear or anger or whatever else. Maybe these things are not in your hands right now. Maybe you are not conscious of them. But it is you who makes them what they are. Whatever the emotion, whatever the nature of your passion, it is only the effort of your life energies that are trying to find a deeper foothold into life. Life energies are only trying to enhance the experience of life – to fully bloom in self-expression. It is just that if it is focused towards various things in the world like the expression of your passion (in my case shabbalicious living), whenever something or someone obstructs its fulfilment you will react. If it is focused in one direction, the results are very quick.

So when you desire, desire for the highest in life. Let all your passions be directed to the highest. Maybe when you are angry you cannot be loving. You cannot suddenly make your anger into love, but you can direct anger itself. If you get angry, direct it towards what you hold as the highest. Let your passion increase. Channeling them in one direction is in your hands. Direct it in the direction of your journey. Every energy that you have, every passion you have, every emotion you have, every thought you have, if they are focused in one direction, the results are very quick.

For me, it is these things that propel me down my shabbalicious path.

Bea xxx

As the owner of a shabby chic studio I get to interact with a wide variety of people. And naturally one topic that features in nearly every conversation is what people like and dislike. “I like this, but I don’t like that”. And interestingly, it often has a subtle little extension – “I like this, so I do this” and “I don’t like this, so I do this”.

So, it would seem most of the time, people determine the course and nature of their lives by what they like and dislike. There are things in my studio that I like and things that I dislike and if I am not careful, I gravitate to the things that I like and avoid the things that I don’t. Both what you like and what you dislike in this sense distorts your perception. If you like somebody, you will exaggerate them in your mind. Similarly, if you dislike somebody, for sure you will exaggerate them in your mind too. Exaggeration means you are unable to see things as they are. If you are unable to see things as they are, you can never handle life the way it should be handled.

But as I work away in my little studio, I have come to the realization that what I like is not important, it is much deeper than that. When I go down to the water early in the morning, I have come to realize that where my mind is at is the determinant of how everything else interacts with me. Have you ever stopped to wonder if your thinking made you in such a way that not just people, but just everything likes you, every creature around you likes your presence, even the flowers, the plants and the trees and the birds and the animals in the sea? “How can the plants and the trees and birds like me?” They are extremely sensitive to who you are. They respond accordingly. If you make yourself in such a way that the very earth that you walk upon likes you, then you will see, everything in your life will become a blessing. If everything around you dislikes you, flow stops and the disconnection creates a rift and life becomes difficult.

Hours spent on my rock has shown me that a spiritual process is not about pursuing what you like – it is about striving to make yourself in such a way that even the birds like you, the fish in the sea like you, the insects like you, the mosquitoes love you (LOL)! All of it can become nectar, only if they like you. Making yourself in such a way that the creation and the Creator cannot help liking you - that is the striving. It is not about fulfilling your likes or destroying your dislikes. It is about making yourself in such a way that every atom in this existence likes you, wants to yield to you. This is the choice every human being has – either to exist here as a limb of the Creator, or to exist here as a bundle of thoughts, emotions, and nonsense that you have gathered over a lifetime. This choice is available to you every moment of your life. I call it being in Shabbalicious Love.

Bea xxx

My little studio is always crowded. There are always lots of pieces of furniture and décor items patiently waiting their turn to be shabbafied. In fact one of my biggest frustrations is the lack of space for all of these wonderful projects.

In one sense it seems to be a fundamentally different view than what I see around my community. Lots of people seemingly throw things away that they no longer have a use for. I can tell you, there is never any shortage of projects to work on because of this mindset. “It is no longer useful to me, so it has to go”.

I wonder sometimes whether that mindset also applies to life in my community. Always looking for some new purpose and when it doesn’t serve any longer, toss it away.

Having pondered this question a lot down by the water on my rock, I guess I have come to a different conclusion. It seems to me that when you ask yourself the question of “what is the use of me?”, the conclusion becomes really simple.

If I choose to live this life fully, then I live it. If I don’t live this life fully, then I don’t.

Not living this life fully, doesn’t stop the sun from rising each day. It seems to me that it is just a lost opportunity or a possibility not realized. Choosing to live this life fully, richly, intensely is also a choice we can make. Living this way won’t ensure that the sun comes up each day either. However, like everything that touches our lives, it gives us choices and manifests things that were just a possibility.

I choose to give old pieces of furniture new and exciting “next chapters”. It would be just as easy I guess to collect them and create a bon fire too. But no, I decide to make choices and put them into action. We never can be sure what the next chapter of our life will bring – either here on Earth or in the spiritual realm. So why waste a moment of time?

For me, well I decided some time ago to create, bring joy and happiness and be the best version of myself. It is not only what I do, but it is who I am.

What have you decided?

Bea xxx

I read a quote from Albert Einstein the other day. He was quoted as saying, “There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle, the other is as though everything is a miracle.” In my experience there is much truth in what he said. For years, I felt as if I was going through life asleep. Autopilot steered me along the familiar paths between home and work and shopping centers. Paths I traveled so many times with my mind somewhere in the future or somewhere in the past that everything around me passed like ghosts: present, unseen. Sometimes, in a moment between waking and sleeping, I glimpsed marshmallow clouds, a burnt sunset, the bruised hills, the star-studded night sky. But mostly I was pre-occupied with living my life: working, eating, sleeping, and sometimes playing. I didn’t even know that I didn’t notice what was around me, that I wasn’t paying attention or connecting to the world around me, until I had an encounter that changed the course of my life.

As most of you know I love the water and sit beside it every morning. To start with it was just because I liked the water’s edge. But one morning a beautiful big pelican glided in and walked up to me. As she moved in front of me, we locked gaze. In that moment, we were connected through an invisible essence, like all creatures and humans are connected in a way that we often don’t understand. I sensed her ancient wisdom and timeless soul, and was transfixed. Eventually, the pelecan looked away then flapped her huge wings and flew away into the blue. I watched her until she was gone but she would never really leave me. That moment of connection flicked a light switch in my soul. From that moment I started to wake up.

Some years later, in the midst of a career crisis, I quit my job to be free. I felt that the corporate treadmill was choking me and that is when I started Luv My Stuff. The way I lived changed completely: I was free. My senses were alive with bright colors, the scent of frangipani and the sweetness of in season perfumes and the energy of the water. I reveled in it all. I paid attention to everything—the moon’s fullness, the strength of the wind, the sun’s position to the horizon, and the presence of clouds for sunset’s potential beauty, although I always went to the water to watch it anyway.

I always now take time out to sit on my rock and feel the sun on my skin and the breeze brush my hair. As I opened my senses and my heart to the world around me, I re-discovered wonder—gasping “ah,” and “wow”—the essence of amazement that we all knew when we were children as we experienced something new only to forget how miraculous it was as the experience repeated became commonplace and normal. To be amazed and in awe of life is to feel fully alive and present in the moment. When we reclaim wonder in our everyday lives, whether we are washing the dishes, sanding a piece of furniture, or watching the clouds shift and change in the sky, we transform the mundane and the routine into a sacred experience. The ordinary becomes extraordinary and our lives deeper, richer, and more connected.

You don’t need to spend money or go out of your way to find wonder. You can experience it right here, where you are. Simply stop and pay attention. Notice what is around you. Look with innocence and curiosity. Release the tendency to judge and describe with adjectives like ugly or pretty. Be grateful for what you witness and you will experience more. Let it move and inspire you. Write about it, take a photo, paint some furniture, create, sing a song, say a prayer, dance. Your life is made up of some big moments but mainly many small ones. Without paying attention, your life will pass by quickly and your memory of it will be beige. But witness those moments with presence, gratitude, and wonder and your life will be vividly multi-colored. It will be extraordinary.

Bea xxx

A pretty little chest of drawers found its way into my studio the other day. It is not the type of piece that I would normally work on because it is veneer, but I kind of liked its style so I thought I would give it a try. Well I have to confess that this decision has led to many difficulties. Well, difficulties in the sense that my usual approach just isn’t going to cut it for the shabbification of this little piece. As I started out on my usual approach to the makeover, I found myself really resisting the protests this little piece was providing me. I stopped and thought for a moment… was I trying to control this little piece? Was I falling for the old, “my way or the highway” routine?

The holistic nature of our being may well be comprised of body, mind, and spirit, but there is also an entire world around us, and our relationship to that world can be either very complicated or very simple. If our view of life is that the world around us is there to satisfy our personal needs, life is a constant struggle and becomes very complicated. Was this little piece pointing this very fact out to me? I do know however if I respect that the life unfolding around me has billions of years of forces behind it causing it to be exactly as it is, life becomes very simple. It becomes a case of first honoring the reality of the current moment and then asking if there is anything I can do to serve the moment as it passes before me. It’s really that simple — not what can the moment manifesting before me do for me, but what can I do for it. So I decided to stop and just be with this little piece and see what was going on. What was it trying to tell me?

I know from my early morning routine down by the water that I exist as part of a much greater whole – none of which “I control”. Billions of amazing things happen every moment around me, and I am not doing any of them. Planets stay in orbit, galaxies spiral through space, and our physicists tell us that quantum fields are emanating subatomic particles that combine together to create everything we see. How much of that am I doing?

Even within my own body, cells are dividing, digestion is taking place, my heart is beating, and my lungs are breathing. I am not doing any of these things; they are all being done by the incomprehensible perfection of life itself. And if any one of them stopped, it would all be over.

Clearly, I have no choice but to trust the perfection of life going on all around me. That being the case, what was it that was making me think that if I stopped trying to control the moment unfolding in front of me, nothing great would take place? Do I really believe that the whole universe can take care of itself, except for the part that passes in front of me? As silly as it sounds, that is how I felt I was acting right now.

Every moment, I am willing to allow trillions of things to unfold on their own, but not the things I was interacting with right here and now —those things have to be exactly how I decided they should be. Therein lies the entire problem. Because the truth is: what unfolds in front of me is really no different than any other part of the universe. The moment in front of me is not special or different just because I am seeing it. It’s all the same universe, and I am just seeing the tiniest speck of it. It suddenly occurred to me that what is passing before me right now took 13.8 billion years to get there. Is it really something I should be judging, instead of appreciating? Whilst I am a creator, I am not the creator of life; that job was filled a long time ago. I had to remind myself that I am a participant in the unfolding of the universe. I only get to interact with a very small part of it, so it is very important I do my little piece of it to the best of my ability.

So at that moment I let go of being “right” and returned to focus on what is. It was only then that I could see the path forward at this very moment for this little piece …. well … see after the tears that welled up had fallen. Grace in action does that to me every time.

Bea xxx

From time-to-time I find myself going through cycles. Right now one of those cycles is the colour blue. I find it to be a calming and soothing colour and one that can exude many different energies depending on its shade.

Colour does light up your life in my opinion and I guess that is one of the reasons that I have experimented with colours as part of my shabby chic practice. I really do think that it is important to have these sorts of “energies” around our home. We all carry emotional energies around with us each day, so having a little reservoir of positive energy permanently stationed around our homes is a wonderful thing.

This has been particularly important to me over the years along my path generally and specifically at times where I felt the need to heal. A big key to healing for me has been the understanding that my response to my environment also feeds the energy. Therefore, if someone throws me a stone and I throw another stone back, or worse, a rock, I am going to exacerbate the problem. Not only will I add fuel to the fire and cause pain for the other, but I will be increasing my own suffering. Energy feeds on energy.

If my son comes home from a long day at school expressing negativity, if I feed on that, consciously or unconsciously, by being in any way critical, negative, or judgmental myself, I will only increase the dark energy that is now in the kitchen. Instead, if I can give him love and sweetness, most likely that will be healing to him and the energy will shift to something that’s supportive and healing for both of us. That’s because love is all the soul seeks and when we can come back to a loving place, everything else in life becomes manageable. When we drift from a place of love, kindness, wholeness, and forgiveness, we feel “out of sorts” and often express bad energy (anger, fear, complaining, etc.).

I have learned to trust that other people, even those I love the most, need to learn life’s lessons through their own experiences and insights. I’m not responsible for fixing the energy or the situation. My only responsibility was and is how am I managing my own energy: am I adding goodness, love, and warmth to the space and people around me, or am I contributing to the creation of a frenetic and fearful environment?

The key to staying balanced for me is to continuously stay connected to my heart—my deeper, spiritual self—and when I stray from there by getting caught up in the voices in my head or the drama unfolding around me, to know the short-cut back to center.

The empowering thing is the realization that I can change my reactions and my own behaviors, no matter how overwhelming the emotions—my own and others—feel to me, in the moment. I now know that when someone throws me a stone, I can throw back a flower (as a wise spiritual teacher once recommended), and I can feel great about it!

Put a little colour around your home and tap into that ever present reserve of positive energy and love.

Bea xxx

Part of my daily morning routine is always spent down by the water. I love to get up early and go down to my favourite rock at the water’s edge and be part of the creation of the new day as the sun rises. It is there that I do much of my spiritual work.

By being present to everything about me, I never cease to be amazed by the wonder and mystery of the universe in which we exist. Each day on my rock, the water is always in a different place. The tides come and they go. It is an endless cycle, a cycle that flows through everything that I do and am. It is a story that resides in me and a story that emerges through my shabblicious self-expression each and every day.

When the tide is in, the birds are busy on the land and in the trees. When the tide is out, the birds are busy on the foreshore where the water was earlier. The birds schedule is around the cycle of the tides.

As I make my way home to start my day in my little studio, I too need to be attuned to the “tides”. There are times in the cycle where my creative energy is high. There are times in the cycle where I know I have to devote my attention to other things like putting my studio back in order or be out searching for new projects.

As I have come to know and understand my “tides”, I have come to understand more and more what it means to live in harmony and in tune with my universe. “Good and bad” disappear when I am in harmony with my tides. It becomes a context of “allowing” for me to move to truth and being.

It is those times that when I am not in tune that things become difficult. When things become difficult, I have to ask myself, “Whose game and I playing today? My game or the universal game?” Am I moving towards truth or am I spiraling into misery?

Have you ever tried to swim against the flow of the tide? It is always difficult and exhausting. But when you move in harmony with the greater flow and are carried by a greater energy, there becomes ease and flow and harmony.

I truly believe that for each and every one of us to be fully self-expressed, we need to be in flow and harmony with our universe. Are you making time, investing in you… by checking in on where you are with the shabbalicious tide?

Bea xxx

Every now and again I have to catch myself. It is a curious thing when I think about it with a clear head. But when I am feeling under pressure, stressed or just a little overwhelmed, it creeps back in.

I have been working on some really beautiful projects lately. My creative energy has been blooming. I have been exploring some new ideas, new techniques and really just trying to stretch the boundaries just over my creative horizon.

The pieces that come into my studio are so wise. I always love to run my hands over the timbers, the curves and the carving, particularly when they first come in. Sure they always show lots of bruises, bumps and scrapes. But you know what? Not once have I ever heard them complain. They sit quietly, peacefully and purposefully. I imagine they anticipate being shabbafied and the next chapter of their being.

But never do I ever imagine they question whether they are good enough. Only something as insane as human beings would ever asked themselves if ‘I’m good.’ You don’t find these beautiful crafted pieces of furniture having existential crisis. ‘I feel so rotten about myself. I don’t feel like as I am as worthy as the lounge chair over there’.

No they don’t do that. And nor should I … and nor will I.

When these feelings creep in I have to remind myself the purpose of my life. I used to agonize about this like it was some sort of question that had its answer hidden in the depths of the universe. But no, the answer is simple.

The purpose of my life is to live. Live it to its limits. Explore every dimension of it. Focus on the NOW of every moment of it. Being the absolute best version on myself – physically, mentally and spiritually every moment that I have been given through Grace.

So when that old man comes and taps me on my shoulder and asks me if I am good enough, I just look him in the eye and tell him to go and get his answer from the antique dining table over there or the beautiful sideboard here or the stunning little bedroom chair sitting so pretty there.

We smile at each other and I bring my attention back to these wonderful wise pieces and now.

Bea xxx

This week a beautiful cedar sideboard arrived at my studio. As I normally do, I just sat with the piece for a while. I was admiring her details, the artful carving, its elegant curves and the way its creator had made her lines and the wonderful appeal to the eye.

As I was sitting there admiring this piece, it occurred to me how the beauty of this piece was not dependent on its surroundings. My studio is chaos in motion. I know exactly where everything is but it is not what anyone would describe as “organized”. Yet amongst all of this busyness, it in no way reduced or affected the beauty of this piece.

It got me thinking about our place in this precious life. We live in an age where many of us don’t want for the basic needs of life. We might complain about it but in reality the standard of our lives today is better than those enjoyed by Royalty not that many years ago. We take for granted our reticulated water, sewerage, electricity, good medical services, good food, our technology innovations, warmth when we need it and so, so much more.

Yet does this translate into happiness? I have to say no… because these things while they significantly add to the quality of our lives, they in themselves do not make us happy. So where does our happiness come from?

As I cast my gaze again on this beautiful sideboard, I looked at its components – the wood, the glass of the mirror and a little bit of brass for the hardware and I thought to myself how those individual components did not account for the beauty of the piece. So what was it?

The happiness and bliss I was experiencing as I admired this piece wasn’t coming from the sideboard. It was coming from within me and at the same time from the entire universe. It was coming from just being and flowing from the Source… the voice of Love that speaks to us in silence.

I am so thankful for this beautiful piece but even more thankful for the realization it brings to me that happiness and bliss are not dependent on anything. All I need to do is just be present to the here and now. It is always there, no conditions, no magic formulas – just being present. Have you found your happiness and bliss?

Bea xxx

From time to time people ask me about being successful. I don’t consider myself successful in the traditional business sense, mainly because I don’t see myself as a traditional business.

For me, success is not about doing better than the next person, seeing life in terms of continuous competition and the struggle for survival and supremacy. When I was younger, the overwhelming emphasis of those around me was a constant striving, obsession with money and the next dollar and constant scheming and maneuvering to get a foothold on the next phase of the “plan”. I have always found this exhausting as it constantly consumes energy through a seemingly endless battle.

I have come to learn that the path to happiness and abundance is more about how to be with others on the journey in a relationship of mutual support and encouragement. One thing I really enjoy is connecting with people. Our on-line world has more than ever enabled us to connect basically with anyone on the planet. But one of the most fascinating things to me is how those amongst us who have common interests, common philosophies and common mind sets gravitate together.

I think the little communities that form up on-line are like newly forming galaxies in our beautiful universe. We are drawn together by energies and forces like love, compassion, empathy, beauty, self-expression and creation.

In this shabbalicious galaxy you won’t find battles for supremacy, scheming and maneuvering. Quite the contrary… you will find beautiful Souls motivated by creating, building up, authenticity, care and compassion. Like some of my furniture creations, they have some bumps, bruises, stories to tell but they are focused on being what they are – self-expressed propelled by Love and beauty.

That is shabbalicious success.

Bea xxx

Each piece that finds its way into my little studio has its own story to tell. Some pieces come in with lots of bruises, bumps and scratches from an active past household life. I sometimes stand before those pieces and wonder what stories they could tell if they could talk to me.

But then as we go about our day, we will meet people. It might be in the hardware store as I go looking for some supplies, or that hidden away charity store as I comb through shelves looking for that unique décor item. Each of these people, right here and now also have their story to tell.

This weekend here in Australia we pause to reflect on those in our community who served their country. ANZAC Day remembers those who served and sacrificed. Whilst some of those very difficult times from our past don’t always show up on the outside as bruises, bumps and scratches like they do on furniture, they do none the less leave their marks emotionally on many families, particularly those where their loved ones did not return.

Many in our families and communities just get on with living, leaving the past in the past. But it is important on days like ANZAC Day to pause and reflect. I like to reflect on times past, sacrifices made and those that through their actions and courage give us what we are so privileged to have today.

So just as I honor the histories of the pieces that come through my studio by transforming them into something fresh and new, I also pause to honor those amongst us and those who did not come home who give us freedom.

It is those good people that act, in the past and now that make our futures secure. It is those good people that selflessly serve that provide much which is so easy to take for granted. So this weekend I pause and reflect.

Lest we forget.

Bea xxx

No church today and no sermon from Bea from her little studio. Instead, just some personal reflections. Today, we're in the departure lounge waiting for the plane to arrive that will take us away on the trip we've been looking forward to for as long as we can remember. On this day which has meaning to some and not so much for others, I recall all the eons of our human waiting from the Big Bang, through our primitive societies and addiction to warfare, our gradual enlightenment, frequent relapses into barbarity and ultimately our meeting with our silent, loving, invisible source of being, at our own level and in the flesh. Time collapses in on itself without losing any of its meaning or vividness. For a moment we glimpse the coherence, the unity and the blessedness of all our experience. Even the worst is included and transformed. But it is a very large stone. I read somewhere the other day that in the first version of Mark's gospel he left out the Resurrection. Everybody knew that was what it was all about and that it was very difficult to put the Resurrection into words. When the gospels do speak about it, it seems to be about how people experienced it rather than what a CCTV would have captured had it been there. Intensely real details passed on by word of mouth over the decades before it was put into writing glowing with a significance and a power beyond what they seem.

The ordinary is transfigured by the real. The meaning and purpose of human existence reveals itself at a level deeper than thought and shows it to be the level at which the source of love, creative and redeeming love itself, is. Part of us says - and that's alright – “this is intriguing but, come off it, too good to be true... Grow up and be real… It’s only a beautiful myth”.

Yet if we deny its truth we would be untrue to that part of us which is awakened and continues to be illuminated over the decades of our lives by this news. This is the part of us which reaches beyond ourselves and beyond the stars.

So as I turn back to my humble little projects in my shabbalicious studio, I do so in the full knowledge that this work comes from that special place, the source of creative Love.

No matter what your beliefs, I wish each and every one of you the pure Love from the source of all things on this precious journey.

Bea xxx

A beautiful French style display cabinet arrived in my little studio on the weekend. I was so pleased to welcome her. She has wonderful carvings, curves and oozes class and sophistication. Her “clothes” were a dark stain with a high gloss finish. But of course that was all about to change as the transformation process for her “shabbafication”.

I find the process of removing the old layers very spiritual and one that always brings me back to Now. The process of methodically stripping away the layers to reveal the original essence of the piece as crafted by its creator is one that bring focus to Now.

I am often surprised how many of our thoughts are not in the present. We are thinking about things we have to do in the future. I need to buy food... take the car in for a service… send someone a birthday card… oh no, I forgot to pay the phone bill…it’s going to be raining tomorrow and driving will be miserable! Many of our thoughts drift back to the past. If only I hadn’t said yes to being on this committee... I’m glad I got the chance to hang out with my friend… that was such a fun bike ride… I can’t believe I ate that much… While some of these thoughts are positive and peaceful, many are not. Many are anxious, resentful, critical and stressful. “Now” is all that matters. It’s all you have. Now is when you can be happy.

So as I sit there giving this beautiful piece my fullest attention, gently taking the layers off, happiness rises, a smile comes to my lips and the stresses and worry of the past and future evaporate.

In their place, the tide of Love, peace and happiness gently flows in… flowing in from the entire universe.

Bea xxx

As a shabby chic artist, I like to be in control of my projects. What I don't like is having my creative process limited by some manufacturers of key elements like my paint finishes. Paint in particular was a constant source of frustration for me with many of my earlier creations.

As a creator, I want to be in control of my colours and the type of finish that I want for a particular project. In my view, each project is unique and has its own requirements when it comes to the type of finish that best suits it. So, what was a girl to do? Accept average? I don't think so... there is nothing average about what I like to create (even if I do say so myself ... lol). So I set about creating my own style of paint ... one that was fully adaptable and "modular" so that it can be adapted quickly and very cost effectively to suit any particualr project I was working on.

Some projects required me having the ability to change shades of colour while other projects required me to be able to change the texture of the paint. So after much trial and error I have managed to create Sugar Paint.

What is it and what is different about it? Well to answer all of your questions I have prepared a litle e-book to tell you all about it and hopefully answer all your questions and more. To get the e-book, click on the link on the righthand side of the home page of my web site on the cover picture and it is all yours.

Take control of your projects and creations...

Bea xxx

They were painted black. The chairs themself were beautifully crafted and had a shaped that oozed elegance from a bygone era. They were in need of a makeover, but something was missing. I felt the energy was absent.

I walked around them, running my hands over the timber. I just sat for a while just trying to feel their energy and get a sense of their story. For the first time in a very long time – nothing, no indication, just flat and well I guess, lifeless.

I wasn’t sure what to do because at this point I usually have a clear picture of the direction the project would take. But right now I had nothing. I was tempted to move on to something else and had even started to turn away and look for another project to start. But then I paused and thought about it a little further.

I have been going through a lot of stuff in my personal life recently which was causing me a lot of stress. What was getting me through that stressful situation was a determination to show up each day for what I believed in. I had been developing a new found strength to be there... be there for me and those that were important to me... be there for all of the things I deeply believed in.

I am deeply passionate about what I do, it is my life passion. So to just turn away was not something that I was hardwiring into my life. OK, I thought, just do what I need to do, first up, show up for this piece. And that is what I did, I showed up for it and started to strip that black paint off. As that black paint came away and the bare wood emerged from that blackness, so too did the energy emerge.

So, what are you showing up for today? Me? Well I am showing up for my values, my beliefs and my passion – each and every day I am blessed to receive.

Bea xxx

Pieces that come into my studio all have a history and a story. This often shows up at one time or another in the form of a problem that needs to be confronted to move forward through the renewal process. Some of these problems can be a real challenge and really test a girl’s patience and determination.

When a particularly challenging problem has to be confronted, it can be tempting sometimes to want to put some form of label or blame to the problem. “If only they hadn’t done this ... or how stupid was this when ...” But once the piece is in my studio, there is no point trying to blame something in the past. Taking responsibility for your own actions is another way of talking about awakening an open heart/mind, because part of taking responsibility is the quality of being able to see things very clearly, particularly on the pathway forward. Another part of taking responsibility is gentleness, which goes along with not judging, not calling things right or wrong, good or bad, but looking gently and honestly at yourself as you work through the challenge in front of you. Finally there is also the ability to keep going forward. It’s been described before as letting go, but in some sense at a personal level it’s that you can just keep on going; you don’t get completely overwhelmed by this identity as a loser or a winner, the abuser or the abused, the good guy or the bad guy. You just see what you do as clearly and compassionately as you can and then go on. The next moment is always fresh and open. You don’t have to get frozen in an identity of any kind.

This heart connection through the creation process will then bring the most amazing creative energy that just glows through your projects. I call it creating from the heart.

Bea xxx

I have had some difficult projects come into my studio over the years. You see, one of the challenges of making something new from the old is that there can be hidden challenges – things hidden behind a veneer or somehow covered up from long ago in the past.

Some of my projects are not what they seem on first appearances, some hiding a dark little secret that doesn’t come to light until the layers are stripped back and others that are just plain broken.

But just because a project presents some problems that were not previously apparent, that does not mean that they are discarded. Quite the contrary, there is always work to be done to make right something that is unfinished business or just “papered over” to get it out of sight. One thing that these projects have taught me is that unfinished business is just that... unfinished. There is no point in perpetuating these problems by just painting over them.

To make something new again, it is always necessary to fix up the unfinished stuff from the past. This work is always undertaken within a mindset of love and compassion. Tenderly washing away past sorrows, gently revealing past wrongs to create a positive way forward, reinstating things that have been broken.

It is only when there is a clear space – a solid foundation, that the fresh and new can be created. And as the creation of the new unfolds, that foundation of integrity provides the strong base to move forward for the new.

And at the end of the new creation process, I always have one final question to pose... am I happy to now finish this project by signing my name with Love?

That has now become my final test with everything in my life. At the end, will I be happy to sign my name with Love?

Bea xxx

It sometimes it takes a lot of courage to become who you truly are – the authentic you.

I am always on the lookout for the unique and individual pieces for my next little project. It could be something small like a little decoration that could be molded and turned into a beautiful applique or a grand piece of furniture looking for that special makeover or rebirth into something new.

But I have found along the way that there can be resistance. So many pieces of furniture find their way into my studio because “they no longer fit or I have decided on a new look”. Many times I hear from previous owners about how they love a particular piece of furniture but seem to want to conform to the latest fashion or trend, so they let loved pieces go.

In my own personal experience, I have found that unless I can grow and flourish then, I feel like I want to curl up and die. I know that sounds dramatic, but those of you who follow my work will know that I take many cues from nature. I adore the way plants reach for the sky. Not just a bit up in the air – but reach leaning out into the entire universe – to be what they are truly capable of being and a part of whole creation. I look at the trees, growing strong, always looking to the sky and reaching out to their destiny.

Each of us is an individual and I truly believe that we are all destined to thrive and grow.

Yes I know that there is much suffering around us. But growth comes in many forms. To use my furniture analogy, each piece that comes into my studio usually undergoes three types of transformation:

The physical transformation – the repairs, the stripping back and the new (shabbalicious) finish;The energy transformation – I like to let each piece “shine” through the transformation process. Each piece has its own energy and through the transformation I like to let that energy free and remove any blockages. That energy brings joy as people admire the newly transformed piece;And finally, the spiritual transformation – the act of creating, particularly creating from the heart, is a spiritual process. It is about connecting and letting creation unfold through me.

So when we embark on the journey of authenticity, I have found it is similar to the transformation of a piece of furniture. There are physical changes, changes to the “energy” of our relationships as we grow and finally spiritual transformation as we continue on our own individual spiritual journeys.

This journey is not about “fitting in” to other people’s wishes or demands. It is about growing to our potential individually, together in relationships, in our family and in the community. Yes it can be tricky because many don’t like change or uncertainty or to let go of where they feel safe and in control as this journey unfolds. But there are always sign posts around to show us the way – if we choose to see them.

More about that next time…

In the meantime, look inside for the authentic YOU.

Bea xxx

I deliberately spend part of each day in “beautiful”. This is a place I choose to be. Sometimes it is hard to access; sometimes it is like swimming in an ocean with the blue of the ocean merging into the blue of the sky to every horizon.

It is a little difficult to describe, but the essence of being “in” beautiful goes to my level of connection with the universe.

You see, my journey has taught me about each of the “worlds” that operate simultaneously. There is that world that is driven by daily drama, dross and trivia. It seems to be right in our face – that layer from the earth on which we walk to just above our heads. It is a busy place always filled with something going on. Lots and lots of stories are colliding, competing for a little space, trying hard to climb on top to be seen and heard. Lots of things being driven, pushed, positioned.

But if I look a little higher – just gaze above into the tree tops and beyond, another world emerges. There, stillness starts to emerge. There, silence starts to descend. Here, space is plentiful. There is no competition for space. There is no need to compete for anything. There is an overwhelming essence pervading this space which calms, cradles, is safe and is very familiar deep within our essence even if the voice in the head says otherwise. This essence is Love. Not a superficial love, but an eternal, everywhere Love that is there for the essence of who I am – always has been and always will be. Here the contrast is just being. Here there is a universal pervading “power” that expresses itself gently and irrestibly.

From this place, I can step through a doorway into “beautiful”.

Beautiful is something that emerges from this place of silence and stillness. We see examples around us every day if we just choose to pause and see. Look at the unfolding of a rose bud into a beautiful bloom. It unfolds expressing the essence of what it is – perfectly. There is no story – just a beautiful expression of Love, of creation manifesting moment by moment.

Beautiful manifests in many forms for each and every one of us. For me, I rest in lace, pearls, flowers, colours and beautiful hand crafted furniture and décor as part of my self-expression.

Our time here is short – in the day to day story. Our time here is eternal in the silence and stillness. Bringing the two worlds into intersection is easy. Just be a manifestation of beautiful by being self-expressed. It really is that easy. All you need to do is just stop – and be.

Bea xxx

I came across this beautiful little story today and it really touched a special place within me so I have decided to share it with you…

Charles Plumb was a US Navy jet pilot in Vietnam. After about 75 combat missions, his plane was destroyed by a surface-to-air missile. He ejected and parachuted into enemy hands. He was captured and spent 6 years in as a prisoner of war.

He survived the ordeal and now lectures on lessons learned from that experience. One day when he and his wife were sitting in a café, a man at another table came up to him and said, “You’re Plumb!. You flew jet fighters in Vietnam from the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk. You were shot down”.

“How in the world did you know that?” asked Plumb.

“I packed your parachute” replied the man. “I guess it worked”.

“It sure did. If your parachute hadn’t worked I wouldn’t be here today”. Plumb couldn’t sleep that night thinking about that man. He kept wondering what he had looked like in a Navy uniform. He wondered how many times he might had seen him and not even said good morning because he was just an ordinary sailor. He thought of tha many hours that man would have spent working on that ship carefully working on the parachutes and holding in his hands the fate of people he did not even know.

Who is packing your parachute? Everyone has someone who provides what they use to make it through the day. But parachutes can come in many forms – physical parachutes, mental parachutes and spiritual parachutes.

Sometimes in the daily challenges that life brings us, we miss what is really important. We may fail to say hello, please or thank you. Congratulate someone on something wonderful that has happened to them, give a compliment or just do something nice for no reason.

As you go through this week, this month or this year, the rest of your journey, recognise people who pack your parachutes.

Bea xxx

You doin’ ok?

Numbers like “billions” or “trillions” are hard to get your head around. A bit like the tiny little ones like “nano’s” too that you will see down the lens of a microscope. See, no matter what you line these numbers up against, there comes a point where poor this shabbalicious little brain just says “whoa”. It might be distance, time or energy – anything really….

And my theory is that we just get way too comfortable at travelling at our own speed, at our own energy in our own time. Seconds, minutes, hours, days, years… or meters, kilometres… or “yeah I know him/her”… or just pausing by the poor old guy sitting on the side of the road or looking the other way and just walking on ...

You see, if I pause for a moment and look at the blue in the light of day or the black in the dark of night, I can see something else. I can feel something else…. looking deep, deep into the night sky you “see” to eternity. Through time past, way beyond the “whoa” point, into distances way beyond that “whoa” point, into energy that is “WHOA”.

Funny thing is though, is that we seem to think that OUR speed, OUR time or OUR distance, or OUR whatever, is pretty much all there is. HUH?

But of course it is not. But in one way it is. You see, when you come back to NOW – it all comes back – eternity past, the irresistible expansion into nothingness at “whoa” speeds, and the boiling cauldron of energy and emotion, the billions of light years of existence or all of that apparent busyness down the lens of the microscope – all snap back. NOW…. it simplifies, it brings understanding and most of all floats out very existence on an ocean of LOVE.

So no matter what is going on, no matter what story I run, where I am in “mind” time or “mind” place, it just washes the dross and trivia away…

This little “journey” we each take… well within the “whoa” boundaries of thinking seems to me is about Love, Compassion, Grace … those little (or big) moments of dipping into the eternal pool of Love and Grace and ladling a little over a circumstance in time, a person passing by… a moment of wishing for someone, somewhere.

Sooooo, my beautiful followers… for this moment in whatever… consider yourself ladled…

Cause, its ok….

Bea xxx

When I first started on my creative path, I desperately wanted to live in a more connected and satisfying way being immersed in what I loved to do. I had a secret longing to know who I truly was and to finally reach my creative potential—not only as an artist, but also as a person. My intention was to express mastery through creativity.

At the time, this made perfect sense. For me, connecting to the creative part of myself—that invisible, powerful place where anything is possible was my goal. A place where dreams are forged and destinies are realized. A place of poetic genius and inspiration. A place where masters live and breathe.

But back then, I didn’t understand that when we embark on this journey, we tend to use what we know—which is almost always ego-based. And the ego can’t get us to where we need to go. This is because ego has way too much baggage. It weighs us down with things like fear, doubt, self-criticism, and anger. And yet, so many of us try the ego-based route first, as I did. I egotistically believed that mastery was about pounding on my craft, practicing it with unrelenting determination and will. I made it more about me. It became an intellectual exercise. I thought it was something that could be forced, conquered even. My motivation was all about achieving the goal—period!

It didn’t take me long to encounter the inevitable setbacks, shortcomings, and failures that come with this kind of thinking. And when I failed to express the master inside of me, I was extremely hard on myself. The whole thing made me feel inadequate. The more I tried to force the master out, the less I felt like one. To make matters worst, all my teachers were still going on about “expressing mastery” and how easy it was.

It was about then that I stepped back and took a hard look at what mastery really meant to me—to my aspirations and to my life. I realized that this ego-based perspective had been creating limiting beliefs and habits that kept me stuck. I feared my uncertain future and began to doubt my abilities. I allowed regret for past mistakes to overwhelm me and to crush my sense of self-worth. I even envied others for the rapid strides they seemed to be enjoying. This ego-driven, high-octane way wasn’t the answer, at least, not for me.

So I decided to look at mastery in a different way—a healthier way. Granted, I’m still not always successful, but I believe I have a better approach to it nowadays. I’ve come to believe that mastery shouldn’t be about “being the best” or “knowing everything” or “flawlessness”—quite the opposite, in fact. Mastery is about the process of becoming, not the act of having become.

When mastery becomes ego-driven (as it did for me), we set ourselves up for failure. No only because the ego weighs us down, but because it always tries to win. But, when your purpose is to live your best life, there is no winning or losing. No goal, no endgame. There is only you being your best—at that moment, whatever that means to you.

This was immensely liberating. Imagine living your life from where you happen to be right now. To never again beat yourself up for not attaining some imagined goal suggested by somebody else. I now understand that my spiritual development can’t be measured by my achievements, or lack thereof. The only yardstick is my own level of awareness and how I feel. My new spiritual perspective and outlook on mastery has transformed me. It means that I can better appreciate who and what I am right now—which is a beautiful, ongoing process of discovery and growth.

Paradoxically, the less I measure, the more I end up growing, as a person and as a creative artist. My goals have become more internalized, less tangible. They are also smaller, but no less important. They are about staying mindful and aware, without applying any judgments or criticisms to what is happening. In this way, I’ve stopped trying to express mastery. Instead I work towards being a master of who I am in this instant—knowing that I am, right now, a perfect expression of me.

If you are feeling blocked or stuck, consider the possibility that your ego and your desire to master your life could be the very thing that is preventing you from getting to where you wish to be. Instead of trying to force your dreams with an iron will and steadfast determination, try a gentler touch. Stay fully present and aware. Simply give this moment your very best. Don’t worry about what you think you should be doing and where you should be going. Just be in the process of being you—right here, right now.

And ironically, by not seeking mastery, mastery will find you. Be shabbalicious…

Bea xxx

I guess I like to have stuff around me. My little studio gets pretty crowded from time to time. You see, when I see things in markets or garage sales, I always see the opportunity of “what could be”. So for one reason or another I have lots of things around me that will “make a great project one day” or “I just might need that one day”.

The trouble is though, I also know that I need a clear space so that I can create. That is one thing that I have learned in my studio and in life… you need a clear space for something to emerge. So whether it is your garden where the weeds get pulled or my studio where some of the clutter gets cleared or my life where some of the talk is put aside, a space is essential for the new and fresh to emerge.

I have been having this conversation with my children too of late. You see, they are always quick to tell me things about what they are going to do, or will get around to shortly, or why something didn’t happen or why something should happen.

But what I have come to understand very clearly is that your actions are your only true belongings.

How many times have you seen someone say stuff but never get around to actually doing anything? How many times have you sat quietly listening to someone tell you why something didn’t happen and roll out a thousand excuses? How many times have you listened to stories of blame for inaction or as a means of justifying why something wasn't done?

So as I look around my little studio, I look with a fresh set of eyes. Not at a whole lot of “things” that have potential… no, what I have around me are projects on my action list. You see, unless it becomes an action within a specific timeframe with a specific outcome, then it needs to move on so that my creation space is always available for my next project.

So my focus is very much moving to collecting actions as my belongings.

I am of the view that when the time comes at the end of my life for me to look back at the panorama of what was, it won’t be the physical possessions that will be important. No, I think it will be the catalogue of my actions, the impact of what I have done, the opportunities that I did something about rather than missed. I don't want any space reserved with regret - no, only a life of actions that count. That is what will be important and matters most.

Bea xxx

Some say knowledge is power. I prefer to think of knowledge somewhat differently. I think knowledge is "wisdom".

Along this journey I am finding that the path to happiness means that more and more I need to let go.

As I learn new things, create new things and discover new things it has built my humble knowedge of all things shabby chic. It has also presented me with many problems. For example, as I have made new discoveries with paint and finish recipes, new and unique techniques and new ideas - the commercial world wants me to position them in the context of power and to commercialise them.

In contrast however my inner being wants me to position this knowledge as "wisdom" - something that is to be shared freely and something that continues to be a path of discovery, joy and love.

I feel sometimes like I walk onto a train platform with a train either side of the platform... one going South to the destination "Power" and one going North to destination "Wisdom".

The economic realities of trying to build my unique little business urge me to catch the train to "Power". My heart urges me to catch the train to destination "Wisdom".

So I have been a little tardy lately with my posts on this blog as I contemplate the two trains on the platform. My heart is my guide so I am contemplating on living a life guided by wisdom and being a provider as a Mother to my children. I know there is a path between the North bound train and the South bound train.

What do you think?

Bea xxx

In one sense our journey is a one way street. Our life asks us to turn up today – right now and be part of whatever is happening. We don’t get the opportunity to go back and have a “take 2”.

Those of you who have followed my work know I advocate passionate living. But what does that really mean? What does passionate living look like?

Well the answer to that is really simple… it just means that I say YES to life.

I say YES to whatever turns up each day.

I say YES to Love…

I say YES to hate …

I say YES to health …

I say YES to illness …

I say YES to beauty …

I say YES to ugliness …

I say YES to life …

I say YES to death …

I say YES to whatever turns up each fresh new day. Why? Well, simply put… it is what is there right now, I am alive and I want to be a vital part of this all too brief life no matter what turns up.

I have been sick the last few weeks with flu. I have felt truly miserable in a physical sense. But you know what? We are so much more than our physical bodies. My mind didn’t have the flu. My body did. As soon as I just chose to stop resisting the physical misery and just chose to accept it and experience all it had to offer, it just fell away.

Our world can deliver us lots and lots of experiences right across the spectrum of evil to heaven. I don’t know why things turn up but I do know that I have a life and I want to live it as passionately as I can.

So I just say YES!

Won’t you join me?

Bea xxx

I often talk about the idea of being self-expressed – letting the passion locked up inside you out so that you can express yourself. I often hear lots of people say they would like to “paint a piece of furniture”. But as many of you will have heard me say in the past – it is much, much more than a painted piece of furniture.

Perhaps the following ideas might help further paint the picture of what I mean when I talk about self-expression:

Understand your story.

Who were you as a child? What did you enjoy doing? Did you stop doing the things you enjoyed? When? Why? What have you learned about working from the people who had some authority in your life (parents, grandparents, brother, sister, teachers you admired)?

Own your story.

It is what it is and you can’t change the past. Allow yourself to be angry for a moment. Acknowledge your feelings. It’s okay; just don’t get stuck at being angry. Negative emotions will not help you or anyone else. Turn them into forgiveness. And then be grateful. People are dying each day being full of regrets; they don’t have any time left to change anything about their lives, but you do. I did and you still do.

Make a plan for yourself.

Make it a daily/weekly routine to get in touch with your true self. What is your definition of being happy? Are you happy? Spend ten minutes each day, whenever you have the time, thinking about the things you really enjoyed. Is there a way to bring them back into your current life? How? When? Schedule it. In most cases, you don’t have to change your whole career, or even your current job. You just have to incorporate more things you love into your life. Make it happen: stick to the plan like it’s your most important project right now. It won’t be easy. Of course, you have your very limited free time and your responsibilities, kids to take care of, or you’re just traveling a lot. Still, you are your most important thing. And unless you are going to take responsibility for your happiness, no one else is going to. Furthermore, what do you want your kids to learn from you about life?

Finally, please get yourself out of the “when vehicle.”

When you’ll get that pay rise, when you’ll buy that bigger house, after you’re back from that wonderful trip, once your kids are going to leave home… life happens to us while we are waiting for some distant event to take place. Smell the roses that are now growing in your small garden. You’ll feel instantly better. And that’s a promise. The best person you can be is YOU. Be the best version of you that you can.

Bea xxx

When this little side table turned up in my studio, we kind of looked each other up and down. I wasn't very impressed as she was stained a very dark colour and didn't seem to exude any positive energy. After a week or two or glancing at each other as I went about my day, we came to an agreement that it would be time to undergo a major transformation.

Well after all of that dark stain came off, the light began to shine. Her energy started to shine through.

We talked for a while to discuss possibilities. We settled on a nice new colour which helped her shine that beautiful energy that had been trapped behind all of that dark stain.

Let me introduce this shabbalicious little side table...

Bea xxx

This little sideboard is the quintessential French Madame. She came into my studio as a tired, battered and bruised lady and has now emerged as something completely different.

She is a true testament to what each of us - yes each and every one of us is... that is unique, beautiful and wanting to be self expressed.

Her story is comming ... but in the interim, let me introduce her, for your enjoyment...

Bea xxx

A new range of unique shabby chic lettering and signs are now available - please look in my store for all of the details. They are very beautiful and can be customised to suit your individual needs.

Bea

The other morning down by the water I was sitting on my favourite rock by the water. The sky was shaping up to be clear and blue as the sun climbed over the Eastern horizon. In the distance I could see a plane flying high above, the sun glinting on its shiny body as it left a long vapour trail behind as it crawled across the sky silently. After a while the vapour trail evaporated leaving no trace of what had been there a few minutes earlier. I momentarily wondered whether my life was like that vapour trail…

But then that I realised that plane continued on, the lives of those on board continued on their journeys even if I couldn’t see where they were as they passed a few minutes earlier. I guess we sometimes forget that in the tree of life we are but a little branch that quivers. But the reality is that we are deeply rooted and part of something much bigger and stronger – even if we forget that from time to time.

I like that tree idea. They are so strong and they go about reaching for the sky in such a majestic way. They are such an inspiration to me and I often find myself visualizing myself as a tree. After struggling for years with pain from my past, I began looking deeper into my being, digging up the roots of what really lies within. Sometimes I feel that the rain and wind of life’s troubles seemed to uproot me and bend my branches to the point of breaking, and the aftermath of these emotional storms left me feeling scattered, weak, and exhausted.

I found an everlasting steadiness when I began viewing my true self as the trunk of the tree—the unshakable core. Within this strong and centered point lies my authenticity—my heart, my values, and the myriad of quirks that made me, me. This part of me is protected with layers of bark, which the storms can no longer penetrate.

Instead, the rains of my pain, disappointment, and unfavorable life events became external, rapidly beading off and nourishing my roots, no longer making me feel shaken, but nurturing me for growth. This is not where the pain ends; this is where it begins. We are shaped by our experiences, not defined by them. They are, in a way, part of us.

Some of these reminders say with us longer than others. They are the leaves that cover our branches. Some fall as winter comes, and time kisses our wounds; and yet others stay with us through the seasons. They are each unique and beautiful in their own way, shielding us like an umbrella of strength, protecting us from internalizing similar hurts in the future.

Whether bare or full, a tree is a tree. Whether hurt or healing, the external experiences of life cannot change the constant steadiness that is our core—our heart, our unshakeable sense of self. Who you are is not what has happened to you. The lost are never really lost; even after years of struggling with hurt and losing myself to my experiences, something still existed deep within, waiting to be found again: the true me.

I encourage you to dig deep, to penetrate the soil, and follow the roots to your heart. There you will find the eternal essence that is you. Don’t let bitterness of the past stop you from discovering your true essence. Let love shine through you.

Bea xxx

I was talking to some of my projects yesterday about some stuff that has been on my mind. Hmmm, maybe there is something to that “crazy lady” label – lol!

I have been thinking a lot about how to bring closure to an issue that has been worrying me for a long time. I couldn’t help but think that this issue seems to just want to hang around seemingly no matter what I try and do to bring it to closure.

I guess we all not only do we seek resolution to our problems and issues, but we also feel that we deserve resolution. I have found myself yearning for this particular issue to just go away and let “normal” come back.

But the more I thought about it, it suddenly occurred to me that in reality I do not deserve resolution, but in fact may be suffering from resolution. It dawned on me that we don’t deserve resolution - we deserve something better than that. We deserve our birthright, which is the middle way, an open state of mind that can relax with the day-to-day complexity, paradox and ambiguity that pops up along the way. You see, the more I thought about it, it occurred to me that what I may be resisting is my perception of uncertainty. Do I deserve certainty? Well, no.

So it occurred to me that in reality what I had been doing was avoiding uncertainty. It is natural then as I move into acceptance that there is nothing that is really certain about each of our day-today’s that in one form I was going to have withdrawal symptoms—withdrawal from always thinking that there’s a problem and that someone, somewhere, needs to fix it.

As I make friends with uncertainty and just relax into the day-to-day moment no matter what is going on or pops up, a far, far different mindset emerges. One where I can rest and connect into may day.

These pieces of furniture are pretty darn smart!

Bea xxx

A permanent feature of my little studio is music. Music helps me get into the creative groove and I just love the energy that it brings. In fact, if a stranger walked into my studio, the chances are they would see this crazy lady dancing spontaneously as some of my favourite music played.

I love the movement of dance. In fact, I think we should all dance, even if it is in the privacy of our own homes. One of my favourite places to dance is down by the water early in the morning. In fact I think I have a reputation as “that crazy lady” with all of the early walkers and joggers.

So what do I see as compelling reasons to dance?

1. You can be part of the crowd and still be yourself.

You can dance alone, yet dance together. I prefer to mostly remain in my own little world, yet when dancing with others can connect for a while. We are all part of the same crowd, yet we can respect each other’s world and remain in our own dance. It’s just like in real life: there are so many people busy running to work, to school, to pick up the kids, to get their shopping done, and so on. We pass each other; sometimes we connect and often we don’t, but we are part of the same place. We are all connected, occupying the same planet and connected to the same universe, yet there is room to be ourselves, to express our own creative power, and to live our own passion from our heart.

2. Everybody is beautiful.

Every time I dance I feel my body as something connected to and part of a beautiful bigger whole rather than as a lonely and disconnected object. Moving among other bodies, I not only feel an amazing connection, but I also experience how beautiful we are all, in body and spirit. Leaving class, walking down the street, I remind myself to respect my body, because, just like everybody, it’s beautiful.

3. It is okay to change direction.

The music is can be according to however I feel. Sometimes I do one thing, but then my heart changes and so does my movement. I can even sit down if I want to. I am a person who always follows her heart wherever it leads her. Dancing reassures me that it is more than okay to change direction, stop, turn back, run forward, or jump between different roads. Dancing reassures me that the heart knows the best; therefore, it is the best to listen to the heart. The rest will follow.

4. It’s okay to do your own thing.

I am sure that to many that I may be seen as crazy to a completely oblivious outsider. There is no right or wrong when dancing - whatever and however you dance is okay, and the same truth holds for life. It is pointless to compare ourselves to others or even to our past life or future goals because we’re all different, coming from different places. Living in the present moment is a beautiful thing, and following our own instincts is the best way to live in the moment.

5. Dance from your heart, live from your heart.

Some days when I dance I am extremely happy and I just want to put my joy into the world. There are days when I come with sadness, anger, or frustration, which I am able to release in movement. Whatever I feel in my heart is the thing that comes out in my dance. I truly believe in the power and importance of authenticity. Just like in dance, living an authentic, honest life from our heart gives a tremendous amount of freedom, because it’s only in acknowledging and showing our true feelings that we’re able to work through them. To live free and happy, remember to live from your heart.

Move your body….

Bea xxx

Sometimes I just sit and look at the pieces that either are in the process of transformation or have been transformed. They all have their story to tell – each and every one of them. All they ask is for a little space to let their story flow. I guess we all do.

I think too it is also calling to each of us to be mindful. Mindful of the sunshine on our shoulders … the gentle breeze that drifts by… the impact of a smile on a stranger … the wonderful majesty and strength of a tree sitting patiently …

We spend so much of our lives looking for meaning—a sense that it all makes sense or will in the end—that we sometimes drive ourselves crazy trying to make the moment good enough. To do the right work, have the right relationships, make the right decisions, make the right impact so hopefully our lives will matter. We’ll matter.

All that struggling, striving, and racing toward something better can make the moment feel like something to escape instead of something to celebrate.

This moment is all we’re guaranteed. Don’t fill it worrying about being better or doing more in the world. Even if you spend today creating a tomorrow you visualize, go through it knowing you create a lot of value and happiness, just as you are. You might be amazed by how much you can accomplish when you’re satisfied with the present, exactly as it is.

What matters is the value we’ve created in our lives, the people we’ve made happy and how much we’ve grown as people. This is something that we all will have the opportunity to look back on at the end of our journey. But right now, and in one sense that is all that really matters – right now, I just train myself to turn up, be available and ready to do what needs to be done and make sure that the intentions I am creating are from a place of integrity.

Have a wonderful day …

Bea xxx

1. This too shall pass.

Positive people have a deep belief and understanding that things are always changing and forever evolving. This allows them to recognize that emotions come and go; a bad moment does not mean a bad day. Tomorrow is a fresh new day. Each bad moment is but a blip on the chart of a wonderful life, although it may seem like a large problem at the moment. The key emotion in this positive belief is hope, especially when dealing with a situation where it could be easy to fall into despair.

2. People are good.

It can be easy at times to watch media stories and start to believe that the world is full of disturbed people. While these people do exist, the world certainly is not full of them. One of the most fantastic things anyone can do for themselves is to believe that the world is full of good people. It’s true, isn’t it? For every one person that could bring us harm, there are a thousand others who would rather help us. It’s in our nature to care about others and love our neighbours. Believing that the majority of people out there are good (and appreciate you in return) will not only bring positivity into your life, it will open you up to making new friends and loving those around you, which benefits everyone involved.

3. This is an opportunity for something better.

Positive people believe that when bad events take place, something better will come as a result. Everyone on the planet has struggles. When we came out of our mother’s womb, we were met with the challenge of taking our first breath. Could you imagine if we decided right then that it was too scary, too awful, and too uncomfortable to make that transition out of our comfortable home of nine months (assuming we were able to make that choice)? The beauty we would never get to see. The love we might never know. The air around us we would never feel. Positive people understand that beauty lies on the other side of struggle. The downs make the ups that much more amazing. When something bad happens, there’s both a gift and a lesson in it. Opportunity comes through change and change only! This is where faith, fate, and hope come into play. Your spiritual beliefs don’t have to matter here, but positive people generally believe that things do happen for a reason.

4. I am one of a kind.

This is the belief that you are a good person, attractive to others, a happy person, a desirable friend and companion. It’s not egotistical, but it is definitely confident. Every person on this planet is a miracle of life, and that includes you. No two people are the same; there really is only one you. You have a special skill set that nobody else can duplicate. Your passions, desires, beliefs, thoughts, body, mind, and emotions are unique. Positive people see themselves as someone the world can benefit from in many different ways. They live to give. They want to share. They want to use their special skills and talents to do what only they can while on this earth.

5. I’m truly doing the best I can, and I’m learning everyday.

This belief also has to do with self-confidence. It’s the belief that even though you may not have gotten through your list of “to-dos,” you did the best you could considering your circumstances. It is the understanding that each person is a product of their surroundings, upbringing, and genetics, and so we all work with the tools that we’ve been given or learned. It is also the belief that life is about lessons, and to learn something new is a feat that deserves celebration every time.

6. Love is everywhere.

Life is what we focus on. When we focus on love, love is all we see. Positive people tend to see it everywhere they look, whether in nature, companionship, friendship, family, and even between strangers. Love can have many different meanings, and I’m not talking about just romantic love in this case. I’m talking about appreciation, joy, amusement, inspiration, awe, gratitude, and serenity. The ultimate belief that will bring any person more joy is to know that we are surrounded by love at all times, even when we are physically alone.

Be shabbalicious!

Bea xxx

Maturity is to do our best - and no less than our best - in every dimension of life – work, sport, relationships, music, being shabbalicious or meditation. This approach leads to the universal and particular human goal of personal wholeness.

This is a regular conversation in my home where we always strive for positive, encouragement and being self expressed so that we grow together as a family. Controlling behaviour has no place in my home.

Bea xxx

A special little poem for you today:

This being human is a guest house.

Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness, some

momentary awareness comes As an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all!

Even if they’re a crowd of sorrows, who violently

sweep your house empty of its furniture,

still treat each guest honourably.

He may be clearing you out for some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame, the malice,

meet them at the door laughing, and invite them in.

Be grateful for whoever comes, because each has been sent as a guide from beyond.

Bea xxx